On my Etrade account, I was given notice of a "new offering" -- a closed end income fund by Blackrock. I explored the new offerings section and noted new corporate and municipal bond offerings as well. Just curious as to the take Charlie and other experienced bond/income investors have toward brokerage "new offerings." In the past, I participated in two new offerings from my Muriel Siebert account -- both income-oriented mutual funds. One -- focusing on munis -- has been very successful while the other did nothing but tread water, so I ditched it.

Given the current environment, is it better to get in on a new bond offering at the ground level -- ie par -- or is it better to let the market have a go at the new issues possibly creating some bargains with higher yields but also at the risk of seeing the price of a new bond get jacked up way above par?